Adventures With Who?
by WrittenFiction
Summary: Mulder and Scully meet the eleventh Doctor and discover that changing the past isn't all it's cracked up to be.
1. The Basement office

_Vrwoooop _

"What's that?" Scully tore her eyes from the computer screen to stare quizzically at Mulder. "What's what?"

_Vrwoooop_

"That sound!" Mulder looked around perplexed. "What do you think it is?"

_Vrwooop_

A pause. Then, "I don't know, Mulder… Probably the heater kicking in or something."

After a few moments of silence, Scully broke the moment by sighing and turning back to work. Ever since her abduct- ever since Duane Barry she had been using work-namely, filling out long, repetitious documents that needed filing- to distract herself from the experience. Mulder pointing out suspicious noises wasn't helping and she would rather get through the day without worrying about monsters and conspiracies.

Less than a minute later, a loud clattering and shout of surprise startled the agents. "Storage closet," Mulder mouthed across the office to Scully, who nodded in agreement, though a look of puzzlement and apprehension remained on her face.

His mind no doubt bent on spies or consortium goons sent to do Cancer Man's dirty work, Mulder silently raised from his chair and made his way out into the hallway, weapon drawn. Scully quickly followed suit, and the two agents crept to the storage closet occupying the basement hallway. Mulder glanced at Scully, noting that her weapon was trained at the door. She nodded, confirming his hunch: someone was in there.

Mulder pulled the door open and they took aim.

freeze! FBI!"

(Author's note: This story was published because today marks the 20th anniversary of the X Files. I have attempted to keep in character while adding a touch a whimsy to the story. If you have any feedback, especially if you think the characters go OOC, I would love to hear it. Also note: if you see any names you recognize, then I don't own them)


	2. A Strange Doctor

"Ah, yes. Well now….This is not good. Very much not good. Do you mind pointing those somewhere else, please? I wasn't planning on being shot at. _Again._"

Mulder blinked and lowered his gun. There was something vaguely familiar about this man...

Scully kept her guard up, though. Recent experience did not make her overly trusting of strangers. "Federal Agents," she announced, though she knew that anyone who bothered to sneak into the FBI Head Quarters would know that already.

"Yes," replied the man in the closet, "I heard that part, put could you just stop pointing that _thing_ at my head?" Slowly, Scully re-holstered her Glock. The man didn't seem dangerous. In fact, he looked rather lost. He wore a striped white button-down shirt and tailored pants- not uncommon attire for the FBI- but the bright red bow tie that sat crookedly on his neck and the matching suspenders were unusual.

With silent amusement, Scully noted that his hair was even more out of code than Mulder's. However, it did appear to have been styled. Mulder's hair never seemed to stay in place, even when he took the time to gel it.

"Now, then," The man stuck his thumbs underneath his suspenders and slid his hands up and down, clearly at ease now that the weapons had been put away, "I'm The Doctor. How do you do? It's a lovely day. _And_…" He walked past Mulder and Scully, looked up and down the hallway and turned back towards them.

"...We're in a basement." He finished, sounding pleased with his discovery, though also a bit bewildered.

"Yes. We are." Scully fished her ID out of her pocket and held it up as Mulder continued to stare at The Doctor. "I'm Agent Dana Scully, This is my partner, Fox Mulder. And you're…?"

"The Doctor. Just The Doctor." The man-Doctor- looked about them once more, as if surveying the area. Something about the way he looked around sent the hairs on the back of Scully's neck rising. Like he was analyzing everything, memorizing. "So, we're in the basement of an FBI building… that's very interest-"

The Doctor caught sight of it. Past the open door of their office at the end of the hall, a poster could be seen. It was simple and bold, effectively capturing the attention of anyone who walked into the office. A UFO hovered in the sky on the glossy paper, but what caught The Doctor's attention were the words: I Want To Believe.

And Suddenly, he knew. Quietly, to himself, "Agents Scully and Mulder…" He whirled back around to face the agents. Bounding forward, he grabbed Scully's hand and shook it.

"Oh, this is brilliant. I'm honored. Really." Releasing her hand, he gleefully moved to Mulder, who had fortunately regained some sense of coherent speech. "Agent Mulder, it's a pleasure. Wow. Congratulations. And without my help, too. That's saying something." Mulder managed to extract his hand from The Doctor's grasp. "I'm sorry…But why are you congratulating me?" The doctor sniffed in mock surprise. "C'mon…What d'ya mean you don't know?"

Mulder and Scully exchanged meaningful glances. No one congratulated them on anything related to the X Files, never mind complete strangers. And Mulder personally believed that the latest events involving Scully's abduction and the closing of the X Files were meant as a warning to him. No one could possibly be having a change of heart about the two "Spookies" in the basement.

"Oh!" The Doctor regained their attention by smacking himself on the forehead. "I must be so _stu_pid. What year is it?" Scully raised her eyebrows. The man was clearly suffering from a head injury. Or some form of mental disorder…It was Mulder who finally answered. "1994."

"1994! Oh, no, that can't be right…Should be in 2014 by now…" Mulder and Scully glanced worriedly at each other before staring back disbelievingly at The Doctor.

"Do you mean... Are we still working together in twenty years?" That was absurd. She was only partnered with Mulder to validate, or debunk, depending on you asked, the X Files. And She'd already been reprimanded for not following those orders close enough. The X Files had already been shut down once, there was no possible way it could continue for twenty years. Could there? Mulder's search for his sister was another factor…Was it really going to take them that long to find Samantha? And since her kidnapping- she couldn't bring herself to say abduction, it was too close to the truth- she was beginning to doubt her ability to keep up with Mulder for the long run, let alone twenty years. As these thoughts threatened to overwhelm her, her logical mind leapt in, reminding her that there was no way anyone could see into the future, and she was brought back into the present by The Doctor's strange English accent.

"-Not exactly, no. It's…complicated. Something involving a Fringe Division…Right. So! I should definitely get going. Places to see, planets to visit. You know how it is. Actually, you don't. but don't worry, most people don't. I'm just going to go back in that closet now…Excuse me-"

"Wait!" Just as The Doctor was passing, Mulder grabbed his arm. "I've- I've read about you. The Doctor." He cast his eyes to the storage room. "And that's the TARDIS." Scully sent him a strange look when he gave her an expression of pure awe. Sighing with exasperation she walked back to the closet. And gasped.

Nestled amongst the mops and darkness of the room was a box. A big, blue wooden Police Box.

The Doctor became flustered, "Well, yes. That's my, um, police box. very English. BUT-" He turned to Mulder and lowered his voice, "How did you know it was a TARDIS?"

"I read about it while I was in Oxford. I found some files about something called Torchwood. They're not very fond of you, Doctor."

"No? Well. Jack will fix them up in a few years…" He looked around the confines of the closet. "Where's your part- ooh, no. Nononono." He ran to the door of the TARDIS just as Scully stumbled out, walking backwards and keeping her eyes glued to the sight in front of her.

"Whoa, there." The Doctor grabbed her shoulders to steady her. Scully blinked a few times, not believing what she saw. "It's bigger on the inside."

"Well yes, I Know that-"

She jerked out of his grasp and spun towards Mulder to find that he had moved up just behind her and The Doctor "It's bigger on the inside," she repeated, looking up at him. He continued to stare up at the box, nodding slowly at her words. Taking a deep breath and turning back towards The Doctor, she quietly asked, "How?"

"Quite simple, really. That there," he said, pointing, "is the TARDIS. It stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. That box, that blue Police Box is just a doorway. The inside, it exists somewhere else. " He grinned. "You rewrote Einstein, Dana Scully. You explain it." His grin vanished. "But you're not supposed to know that. Oh, I am stupid!"

But Scully wasn't listening to his self deprecation. "No. No, that's impossible. It has to be some sort of trick, computers maybe." She boldly walked into the TARDIS again, forcing The Doctor to scurry after her and Mulder to follow behind.

This time, Scully looked around in cynical detachment as Mulder stood on the ramp leading from the door to the control panel, gazing in wonder at what he knew was alien technology. All the while, The Doctor fretted and seemed uncommonly eager to be rid of his new guests. "Yes! You got me Agent Scully! It's all a trick! Now if you two could just-"

The mechanics around them began to tremble and the sound of a door snapping shut caused the doctor to whirl around. "What did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything!" Mulder's voice was indignant.

"Well, you obviously shut the door-"

The sudden impact of the TARDIS tearing through time and space sent the three sprawling to the ground. Grabbing hold of the railing surrounding the console of the TARDIS, Scully managed to shout over the clamor, "What's happening?!"


	3. Somewhere New

(Author's note: I still don't own anything and I'm still not making money. This story has gotten away from me. It started out short and whimsical and now it's become a full-blown piece of angst and plotting. Once more, I would like to ask for reviews, if you have the time and patience, especially in regards to character's staying true to canon and tenses-seriously, my tenses need help-so without further ado, here is part III)

"We're traveling!" The Doctor shouted back at Scully. With great effort he lifted himself up and started fiddling with the many dials and levers on the console. With a wheeze and a noise not unlike that heard in the depths of a ship engine, everything came to a halt. Breathing heavily, the agents rose. Mulder shakily walked over to join The Doctor and Scully, only to find that she had already resumed her questioning.

"…And you said 'traveling' . How could that have happened? We were in a storage closet."

The Doctor was studiously ignoring her, twirling the nonsensical things on the control panel, only to push buttons that seemed to cancel any commands before they actually happened. The silence thickened.

"Doctor?"

"We traveled through space and time, Scully. Essentially we just materialized here." Scully looked sharply at Mulder. "Mulder. That's not possible. I mean, we don't even have the technology, and the factor of the time/space continuum would come into question. And if -_ if_ it were possible, we would have heard about it!" Mulder opened his mouth to respond, but The Doctor interrupted. Grabbing Mulder by the arm, he pulled him to the side. "She can't know about this," he said, his voice dangerously low, "It will destroy the time line. Not just yours or her, but everyone's. The world needs her to not believe."

"Not believe in what? " Scully's eyebrow raised in irritation and her arms crossed over her chest. She flicked her gaze back and forth between the two before her. "Mulder?" At his sheepish look, She knew. It was the look he gave her whenever she figured out he thought extra terrestrials were involved in a case. Her eyes turned steely at this revelation. "Aliens, Mulder? Really? I can't believe in aliens?"_ No problem there_, she thought. She let out a puff of air that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "And…what? He's an alien?" She looked pointedly at The Doctor, glanced back at Mulder. "He's not gray."

Mulder smiled, glad that she was throwing his words back at him again. That usually meant she was joking. Which meant she didn't hate him. Yet. Sighing, she unfolded her arms and looked around the TARDIS.

The Doctor and Mulder faced one another again. It was amazing, really. Mulder spent his whole life searching for aliens, knowing that they had to be the reason for his sister's disappearance. Now he had met one, and…It wasn't anything he expected. From what he read at oxford, The Doctor was the furthest thing from typical alien activity as you could get. He popped up throughout history, causing events to set in motion and fighting off other aliens. But if he could travel through time and fight aliens, maybe…

"Doctor," Mulder began, "If you really can travel back in time…" He stopped and cleared his throat, "Is it possible to go back to 1973-"

"No. " The Doctor's voice was soft. "I know what you're asking, and I'm sorry, but I can't. It's a fixed point in time. Her abduction throws everything into gear. Your education, your job, the X-Files. Because of that one night in 1973, you and your partner save the world."

"What?!" The Doctor looked past Mulder's shoulder to find that a very Skeptical looking Scully had walked up to them again. Wonderful. Was her timing always this good? "Uh, nothing. Just forget I had said that. Ignore everything I say. Well, not everything. Don't ask stupid questions or wander off. Ignore everything else, alright? We're heading back to your office as soon as I-"

Suddenly, a white light shone through the windows of the TARDIS. Unable to help himself, The Doctor relented to his insatiable need for adventure. "Well, since we're here, I'll just check this one out. You two should stay here. Out of trouble and all. After all, I'm an expert."

* * *

The three of them stood outside the TARDIS. They were at the edge of an open field, surrounded by trees. Soaring past them in the sky was a craft emitting a piercing white light from its underside. It moved gracefully and low, just above the tree line, until it came to a halt and hovered over the center of the field.

Scully gripped Mulder's arm, too shocked to remember her professional mask of calm. "Mulder, that's the ship…And the closet..We've moved…" Mulder only nodded, too dazed to answer. The Doctor, however, used to such sights, had zoned in on Scully's words. "What do you mean '_the_ ship?'"

"I've seen it before," she murmured, not really paying attention to him. The Doctor furrowed his nearly non-existent eye brows and instantly took to look at the ground. "Ah-ha!" A newspaper lay with a discarded assortment of bottles and trash. "Now isn't this convenient? Let's see…Apparently it's the sixth of August, 1994. And from the looks of things…" He took out his sonic screwdriver and, flipping it open, pointed it at the sky. Looking at it briefly, he shoved it back into his jacket pocket. "We're on a mountain of some sort."

"It's the Seventh." The Doctor stared at Scully,shocked. "How did you know that?" Scully's fingers dug deeper into Mulder's arm. Her voice was strained.

"Because that's my car."

Sure enough, on the opposite side of the field, a pair of headlights emerged from the darkness of the trees and pulled up just beneath the shadows of the forest. A single figure left the driver's seat and made its way toward the back of the car. Squinting, the three could make out the opening of the trunk. And the struggling woman the silhouetted man pulled from it.

All the pieces fell into place. All hell broke loose.


	4. Ascension Revisited

(Author's note: I was going to wait a few days before posting again, but after learning that I can meet Gillian Anderson at NYCC this year I got so excited and couldn't contain myself. So here we are, with another chapter inspired by post-fangirl ecstasy. I've continued to add more angst and I really do hope I'm staying true to the characters. Once again, I'd like to beg for reviews, because I haven't gotten any yet. Am I doing fine? Do you hate it? I don't know. Anyways, y'all already know I don't own anything, not even an original idea, so here we go)

"NO!" The Doctor lunged and grabbed Scully by the arm even as she threw herself into a run. Working on pure adrenaline, she elbowed him in the gut and shoved him off her when his grip lessened and continued to dash along just behind Mulder. The Doctor caught his breath almost immediately, and for once glad of all the running he's done, managed to meet her pace in a few steps. This time he secured his arms around her waist, nearly picking her up off the ground as she fought back. Her legs kicked in the air even as her hands fought off his, trying to regain control. "Let go of me!"

"I can't! You're not supposed to be here!" A few moments of struggle, and he finally managed to drag her to the TARDIS, where he promptly bumped open the door and all but dropped her inside. At her expression of anger and hurt, he simply replied "Scowl at me later," before shutting the door and sonicing it locked.

He took a deep breath of relaxing victory before remembering Mulder. Tearing away from the TARDIS, he rushed towards Mulder, who was gaining on the pair, when he heard a cry. "Mulder!"

Mulder came to a stop about ten yards away from Duane Barry and his partner. She had seen him, and called out his name as she had on his answering machine. He felt the wave of guilt and dizziness that he had when he'd first realized that she had gone missing. Now, just feet from her, he could see the bonds on her hands, the blood, the gag that had fallen from her mouth. And he stopped. He could make out the desperation in her eyes even as the light washed out everything else, dimly heard her calls for help even as Duane Barry caught sight of him and increased the pace towards the light. The white light. Mulder was frozen in place, helpless as he had been years ago, losing the only thing in the world that mattered to him. Again.

Out of nowhere, black utility vans pulled into the field, military men pouring out of the doors like swarming insects. Just as Mulder lurched back into a run, he was stopped by a vise-like pressure on his arm. His head whipped around to find what was stopping him, only to see The Doctor. He looked at him blankly before the sound of Scully's terrified scream forced him to stare back at her and the men quickly occupying the area, surrounding her.

He felt a hatred that had manifested itself within him months ago bubble up again, and through the haze he only knew one thing: Scully. He started forward even as a number of soldiers made their way towards him, raising their weapons threateningly….

A screeching buzzing filled the air, causing everyone to double over and clutch at their ears in pain. The Doctor forced Mulder up, all while keeping his sonic screwdriver pointed at the sky, transmitting a sound wave that was pure agony to listen to. After managing to pull Mulder halfway back towards the TARDIS, he let go of the man and turned off his screwdriver. After only a few seconds to recover, Mulder was himself again.

His determined, pissed off self.

"What the hell did you do that for?" The Doctor expected yelling, but Mulder's voice was low and harsh. And dreadfully angry. It was nearly scary, the intensity of his gaze and the quietness of his voice spoke volumes louder than any amount of shouting could have done. It was human. So very, very, human. And The Doctor was almost frightened of how much emotion this man had at his disposal.

Almost.

"Listen," The Doctor said, choosing his words carefully and fully aware that time was growing short, "You're not supposed to save her. Not now. If you go back there, you'll both end up dead. " Mulder opened his mouth to speak, but The Doctor had no time for interruptions and changed tactics. "Look. That's not your Dana. That's past Dana. Right now, the present Dana is in the TARDIS and she needs you. "

The men on the field were quickly gaining on them, and the barest outline of Scully could be seen being loaded into one of the vans. The Doctor grabbed Mulder's shoulders and forced him to look in his face. "Her memories are changing, Agent Mulder. We've changed everything just by being here. She _needs_ you."

Mulder stared at him for a long moment, searching his eyes for the truth. Finally, Mulder found what he sought and nodded. Just as the footfalls of the running soldiers met their ears, the two ran into the TARDIS.

The door clanged shut, and as the men took aim at the blue box, it faded into the night.


	5. A Familiar Face

A man stood amongst the activity, unperturbed by the sight he had seen so many times. The soldiers went about their business and never asked questions, the medical personnel stayed in their van, happy to be out of the way and to be useful only when called upon. As the experimental ship left the clearing- perfect for fooling people into believing in aliens until it was properly fitted for warfare purposes-so too did the men and vans. One by one, they all left, leaving nothing in their wake that might incriminate them.

The man, gray in the hair and dressed in respectable business attire took a long drag from his cigarette. He might be working, but that didn't stop him from indulging a lifelong habit. His musings about what had happened were interrupted by Sergeant Calloway, an ambitious man who, while silent about his work and good at it, was bound to be terminated one of these days. The Smoking Man had no idea when or for what purpose, but he could sense it. Just another pawn out doing a duty that was bound to be ruined by a slip of the tongue or a sudden spurt of conscience that would have to be dealt with.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Calloway?" The Smoking Man never used official titles with those he worked with, he seemed to be above all of that, though it never ceased to irritate the Sergeant.

"What do you want to do with Agent Scully and ex-Agent Barry, sir?"

He took another drag of his cigarette. Now that was an interesting question. And while he wanted to reject it, he knew his eyes did not lie to him: Mulder was here, in the clearing. But it wasn't the right Mulder. The real Mulder was several hours behind them... The Smoking Man had originally decided that the best plan of action was to make Scully disappear for a few days, maybe a week at most. Just to warn Mulder.

_Well,_ he thought, _plans change all the time._

"Put Agent Scully through phase two of the project…Leave Barry for Mulder to find."

"But sir, Agent Mulder-"

"Believes in him, Calloway. Barry is convinced he's seen aliens. Let him find Barry. I know someone who can deal with him. As for Agent Scully… Mulder was more determined than we thought. We'll need more time with her to let the message get through."

Plans changed all the time. This just might be the best change of plans to come around in a long time.

_The tide is changing, Agent Mulder_, the Smoking Man thought, _best be careful about who you trust._


	6. A New Timeline

(Author's Note: Due to the silence, I'm assuming this either sucks or is so great it has stunned you all into awed silence. I'm gonna go for the second one...Anyways: _angst warning._ This time I'm serious. I hope the timey-wimey story line changing makes sense...without further ado, here's my attempt at entertaining you:)

Mulder was angry. He was exhausted. And under all that, he felt the familiar pangs of guilt beginning to seep in. He had _seen_ her, damn it. Scully was right in front of him, begging for help and he had left her. He knew that somewhere in the TARDIS, Scully was still there, but he couldn't face her. Not when she had seen him and allowed herself that brittle hope to form, only to have it broken when he walked-ran- away.

Instead of facing those feelings of shame and failure, he channeled it into anger. It was easier to deal with, more shallow than what he was truly feeling.

"Damn it!" Mulder, shoulders hunched in agitation over the TARDIS console and brought his fist down upon it. The Doctor swung the hanging monitor out of his way as he hastily made his way around the controls. "hey. HEY!" He got Mulder's attention and managed to maneuver between him and the Console, forcing Mulder back a few steps and effectively protecting his beloved TARDIS.

"Agent Mulder, I hope you know what you are doing and that it is beginning to make me _very_ upset." Mulder stared at him for a moment before breaking into a short and mirthless laugh. No matter how slowly or quietly The Doctor pronounced his words, he wasn't going to be intimidated by this man who forced him away from Scully.

"Why did you do it?" The Doctor closed his eyes and took a deep breath, grounding himself before having to look into the young man's face again. He had old eyes, The Doctor realized. Like him. They'd seen too much in too short a time and contrasted sharply with his young face. Swallowing, he faced the man again.

"I had to." At Mulder's incredulous look, he barreled forward. "Don't you see, Agent Mulder? If I could have, then I would have saved her. It's…What I do. But your futures can not be altered. Especially hers. Now," he said, his demeanor more than somewhat somber, "You should find her. Talk to her. Agent Mulder, her memories have been changed. She needs someone she trusts with her." At those words, Mulder's cold gaze had softened and the Doctor knew he had said the right thing. _And I need you out of the way,_ he added silently, watching as Mulder nodded in agreement and walked away.

Mulder saw The Doctor go back to work on his TARDIS through the corner of his eye as he looked about, wondering where to begin. Deciding that the best course of action would be to just walk, he did. When he left the room, The Doctor looked upwards, as if beseeching his TARDIS. "please," he mumbled, "Let him find her." He threw a switch that made the floor shake. "soon."

XXXxxxXXX

Mulder found her. She was curled up in a lounge chair in what he guessed was supposed to be a library. It had shelves, it had books. And it had a pool. Disregarding everything else, he made a bee line towards her, slowing down only when he noticed the blank expression on her face. Scully was known for her professionalism and her cool, but she was never completely devoid of emotion. It scared him to see her usually bright eyes dulled, her face without lines or some hint of what she was feeling.

It scared him because it meant he had no idea what she was thinking.

Because it seemed appropriate, he cleared his throat as an attempt to let her know he was with her, but she didn't respond. Trying to keep his concern in check, but failing miserably, Mulder made his way to the chair, stopping just before her. Kneeling so that he would be at eye level, he softly spoke. "Scully."

She blinked rapidly before focusing her gaze on him. As soon as their eyes locked, she cast her eyes downward, refusing to acknowledge him. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her cheek rested on them, content to be secure in her own arms. Minutes passed.

"I can't remember." The words were soft, so quiet he almost didn't catch them. "Mulder, why can't I remember?" Mulder opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to answer her. He reached forward and took her hands, which were clasped around her calves, giving them slight pressure so as to calm her. And then it hit him. He waited a week for her. But…It was three months.

Oh, God. His memories were changing, too. Three months. She was missing three months. "Oh, Scully," he whispered, feeling his heart tighten painfully for her. Had going after her only made things worse? Did she have to relive the experience, the fear and the torment even longer? She took a deep breath. "Mulder, that's not all…"

No, it wasn't. Suddenly, images were clouding his brain, of him capturing Duane Barry rather than finding him dead in a field, of him fighting the hospitals security guards, desperate to get to a comatose Scully, the meeting with the Lone Gunmen that hadn't taken place the last time she was returned…

"Mulder?" He started at the intrusion on his new found memories and looked apologetically at Scully. She smiled sadly in understanding. "It's just…well…" She took a deep breath to steady herself before unfolding herself and sweeping the hair from her neck and angling her body slightly towards the back of the chair, exposing her backside to Mulder. Slowly, he raised until he was bending over her, looking at the area she had exposed, when he found it.

At the base of her neck, a small scar marred her skin. It was puckered and new, no more than a few weeks old. She felt his fingers dance lightly over the nape before she spoke again. "It wasn't there the first time I was...Taken." her voice quivered ever so slightly, "Is it… Mulder… Is it like Duane Barry?" Mulder closed his eyes, but it did nothing to stop the memories from assaulting him. The discovery of the computer chips inserted in Barry, and the fact that Mulder had sent Scully on her way with it… Her screams for help on his answering machine-

"Mulder." Her voice was so small and broken that Mulder swallowed convulsively against the emotion that formed in the back of his throat. "Yeah, Scully…I think it…It's probably the same." The curtain of hair abruptly fell back into place, and Mulder sank into the chair next to her even as she faced forward again. Given the size of the chair, they both fit on it comfortably, shoulder to shoulder. Or rather, shoulder to upper arm.

Feeling a slight weight on his arm, Mulder looked down to find that Scully was leaning against him. It was uncharacteristic of her, and he knew it was a silent plea for a refuge against what had been done to her, to both of them. Gently, he moved his arm so that it wrapped around her shoulders and her head rested in the hollow of his shoulder. He rested his chin on the top of her red hair, squeezing his eyes shut against the tears he feared would come.


	7. Rewriting History

"Good news! Well, good and bad if you look at it correct-" The Doctor had bounded into the library, only to stop abruptly at the look Mulder threw his way. Scully was laying back on the lounge chair, sleeping. Mulder was sitting just on the edge of its extended seat, apparently in vigil.

"Right," said The Doctor quietly, not quite at ease with Mulder since Skyland Mountain. "umm, well, bad news is there's something wrong with the TARDIS. It keeps jumping from place to place on your timelines…You don't remember it now, but before I popped into your closet, I had a lovely conversation with William. Thought he could hear the aliens talking to him."

"…Who?" The Doctor blinked, surprised. A collage of emotions flashed across his features before settling into an irritatingly neutral look. "Uh, no one. Nothing important. Very important, actually, but not right now. The point is, something is not right with the TARDIS. The good news is, it doesn't move while we're still. Or, it shouldn't. I don't know why it did before. But I don't think it will move while we remain still in space. It shouldn't have as many reference points up here. "

"So we're stuck up here in space?"

"For now."

Mulder sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face. This was _not_ how he expected meeting extraterrestrial life would be like. Or time travelling. He always assumed aliens would be small, grey…basically, classic Hollywood images. But the Doctor? That was another subject entirely. Mulder got the sense that he was a good guy…But he had done nothing so far to prove it. If anything he made things worse.

Like Scully, for one. Christ, it was bad enough losing her for a week. But three months? What had she gone through? Hell, what had HE gone through? He remembered the months he had never lived vaguely, bits of pieces involving the Cancer Man, X, and a woman named Kristin…coupled with a sense of loss and guilt. But he could also remember the week she was missing, too. A frantic search to find her, finding Duane Barry dead, and her return to him at the hospital. Only, she had remembered, then. She recalled the bright lights and surgical procedures to the letter.

Not that it mattered, she didn't bother to tell him what happened to her any less than she could get away with. A brief description and the mantra "I'm fine" is all that those talks were comprised of.

Now, she had the memories of two abductions, happening for the same reason: him.

Mulder glanced back at The Doctor to find the man- the alien- standing awkwardly and watching him with guarded eyes. "How…" He cleared his throat, "How long are we going to be here?"

The Doctor hesitated, as if choosing the right words before replying. "I don't know. Could be a few minutes, could be a few days. But until I know what's wrong with my TARDIS, I can't be sure."

"And what about her?"

It didn't take a genius like The Doctor to know he was referring to Scully's experience since crossing her own time line.

"Oh, she'll be fine." A pause. "Relatively."

Mulder blanched. "Relatively?"

"Her whole life has changed! Your life has changed, the future of the entire human race has been altered. There's only so much fine a person will be. But she will get though," he added, almost as an afterthought. Mulder narrowed his eyes. "how do you-"

"Because I can see everything- all that is, all that was, and all that ever could be" The Doctor rocked onto the balls of his feet, "And you just rewrote history."

XXXxxxXXX

(Author's note: Well, I hope you're enjoying this...I also hope the changing of the time lines makes sense. I don't know if it's clear enough in the writing. But, since you keep reading it, I guess it makes some sort of sense)


End file.
